spatial organization

I can’t come up with references for the following, but it is an idea I’ve read in several places, and it makes sense:

Kids develop spatial organization by working with and in space. Encourage all sorts of physical play. As an added bonus, you’ll be helping fight the epidemic of childhood obesity and related health problems.
Outdoors, kids need to run and jump and climb. Everything from tag to hide and seek to jungle gyms and swings. More organized games that have a lot of skills to learn are games involving throwing and catching, skipping, rhyming and clapping games, bouncing balls, etc. Sports that help a lot include swimming, skiing, trampolining, gymnastics, and any others that involve full-body motion and timing.
A very important note — it is all too common in all of the above that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It is vital to NOT choose the best kids for the team and leave the others out — your goal is to teach the kids who do *not* already have the skills. Your position as a teacher is to get every kid active and involved, and to teach skills directly to those who are missing them.
Indoors, encourage play with blocks and building kits and three-dimensional constructions of all kinds. Avoid the stereotyping of little girls playing in the dollhouse — there is some thought that this is why girls develop less spatial skill than boys. Puzzles can be good too, although limited — 3D is more effective than 2D. Working with tools such as real screwdrivers etc., taking things apart and putting them together again, is extremely useful.
Paper and pencil tasks are the tests given after the learning; in and of themselves, they don’t teach much — how can a 2D worksheet teach you anything real about a 3D world?

Kristin,
I’m an occupational therapist and was browsing for some treatment ideas….and saw your question. Spatial organization in what sense? Is the child having perceptual deficits and have you had an OT assess for this?

I can’t come up with references for the following, but it is an idea I’ve read in several places, and it makes sense:

Kids develop spatial organization by working with and in space. Encourage all sorts of physical play. As an added bonus, you’ll be helping fight the epidemic of childhood obesity and related health problems.
Outdoors, kids need to run and jump and climb. Everything from tag to hide and seek to jungle gyms and swings. More organized games that have a lot of skills to learn are games involving throwing and catching, skipping, rhyming and clapping games, bouncing balls, etc. Sports that help a lot include swimming, skiing, trampolining, gymnastics, and any others that involve full-body motion and timing.
A very important note — it is all too common in all of the above that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It is vital to NOT choose the best kids for the team and leave the others out — your goal is to teach the kids who do *not* already have the skills. Your position as a teacher is to get every kid active and involved, and to teach skills directly to those who are missing them.
Indoors, encourage play with blocks and building kits and three-dimensional constructions of all kinds. Avoid the stereotyping of little girls playing in the dollhouse — there is some thought that this is why girls develop less spatial skill than boys. Puzzles can be good too, although limited — 3D is more effective than 2D. Working with tools such as real screwdrivers etc., taking things apart and putting them together again, is extremely useful.
Paper and pencil tasks are the tests given after the learning; in and of themselves, they don’t teach much — how can a 2D worksheet teach you anything real about a 3D world?

Kristin,
I’m an occupational therapist and was browsing for some treatment ideas….and saw your question. Spatial organization in what sense? Is the child having perceptual deficits and have you had an OT assess for this?